


Resurrection

by keroberros



Series: Resurrection Universe [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Non-Compliant Post Aizen's Defeat, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-21 19:01:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2479037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keroberros/pseuds/keroberros
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichigo may have regained his powers, Aizen may have been sealed away and Byakuya may have realised that there is something about the substitute shinigami, but there is a new force on the horizon that is bent on revenge. Set 60 years post Aizen's defeat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Place to Think/Essence

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. This is a work of fan fiction and as such I make no money from it.

 

**Resurrection**  

_And here in my place of secrets I find that at last I can think clearly_

_That I can think clearly of you and what you mean to me_

  **Chapter One: A Place to Think/Essence**

 

He sighed. Yet again it seemed as though the trees could not make up their mind. It was not as if they had a mind of their own to begin with, yet the constant changing that they had been undergoing was yet to cease. The trees could not make up their mind. No, perhaps it was not the trees. Knowing this place as he did, he knew that it could not be the trees, but rather himself that could not make up his mind. It was not the trees choosing to fluctuate between barrenness and blossoms but rather his own inner turmoil. It would have made him laugh if he partook in that sort of thing. The trees of the plane had been in that alternating state for the past few days and already Byakuya was growing tiresome of it. He was sure that Senbonzakura was too.

He glanced to the left where a lone tree was unaffected by his influence. It was bare, little more than a shadow of what it had once been when in bloom. It had been that way for more years than he could care to remember. He wondered whether it would ever return to some semblance of its former glory, yet some part of him, knowing what it represented, had come to terms with the fact that it would not.

Hisana.

That one word alone was all he needed to instantly quell such thoughts of restoration. The tree would never bloom again.

“Are you merely going to stand there or are you going to join me, Byakuya?”

He did not reply, merely walked slowly to the edge of the small pond that inhabited the plane, lowering himself gracefully to the grass beneath one of the numerous trees present. It seemed that there was another that was unaffected by the noble’s influence, yet unlike the previous one, the tree beneath which he sat was covered in cherry blossoms. He was curious as to why the tree appeared to be this way, but brushed those thoughts aside at the words his companion next spoke.

“You seem to be coming here more and more lately, why?”

Byakuya glanced to his right at the figure sitting there. He was clad in clothing similar to the taichou, but in varying shades of silver and rose; without the accompanying haori. The colours swirled together much like the thousands of tiny, fluttering blades that made up Byakuya’s zanpakutou.

“You know why,” he simply replied.

His companion chuckled before saying to him, “So cold, even to your own zanpakutou.” He became serious again a moment later however, “Of course I know why you are here, Byakuya. I would like to hear you say it though.”

Silence reigned. A chill wind passed through the plane, sweeping strands of kenseiken clad hair across Byakuya’s face. He did not move. Both men merely looked at the pond before them as if it held all the answers that they sought.

He could not tell how long he had been merely staring and contemplating but he was surprised that his zanpakutou had remained silent for so long. It was not normally in the man’s nature, but he was thankful for it nonetheless. His hot-headedness, as it were, would have been too much for him to deal with at that moment. He sighed again.

“I come here to think,” he told the man.

“About what?”

Byakuya frowned. “You really want me to admit it don’t you? You know very well that I could just leave.”

“You could,” his counterpart nodded, “but you won’t. You know that if you admit to why you have been coming here so often you are really admitting to more. The thought of that scares you…no, it terrifies you.”

They were engulfed in silence again.

Byakuya knew that the man was right. How could he not when they were two parts of the same? Yet he was still reluctant to admit to anything more out loud. It was true that he had come here, to his inner world, to think as he had always done. However, it had been many years since he had retreated here for such long and consistent periods of time. Not since Rukia’s supposed trial had he been here as often as he had these past few days. Thirteen days. He had been brooding on this problem for the past thirteen days. No, he had often thought of the problem throughout the years, but he had not obsessed over it, been consumed by it before like he had the past thirteen days. It occupied too much of his time. He never thought he would feel lucky for not having a fukutaichou.

“Thirteen days, Byakuya. How much longer are you going to deny everything?”

He did not reply. He seriously considered leaving but he knew that it would be pointless. Senbonzakura would merely confront him the moment he deigned to return. If he was going to admit anything it would be on his terms and not those of his zanpakutou. But was this something that he was ready to admit? After all, it was not as though anyone else would know, but the fact that he could not even admit it to himself was mildly disconcerting. He had never been one to shirk away from the truth of any situation; except this one. Why was he so unwilling to admit it?

“You feel that it will change everything,” his zanpakutou replied to his unasked question.

“It will,” Byakuya stated.

“Not unless you want it to.”

Not unless he wanted it to change. It was perhaps a foolish belief on behalf of his zanpakutou and one made to no doubt soothe him in some way. If he was to admit to what had been occupying his thoughts so much then things would change. Maybe not externally for anyone to see, but Byakuya would know and that was change enough. It was not something to be taken lightly they both knew.

Byakuya sighed yet again.

“You will not let this drop will you?”

“Iie.”

“Souka.”

Silence except for the continued assault of the harsh wind upon them. A single sakura petal drifted its way on the Byakuya’s knee. Carefully, he removed it from where it had settled and placed it in to the palm of his hand. He gazed at it intently.

“There is something about him that has caught my attention.”

“Who?”

Byakuya clenched his jaw. He had hoped that his previous statement would have been enough for Senbonzakura to drop the subject. Was that not confession enough? They both knew of whom he was speaking and yet it seemed that his companion would not be satisfied until he said it aloud. He could not say it. He would not say it. Saying it aloud would make it tangible; a fact; something that he could not then continue to deny or then retract.

“Who?” his zanpakutou pressed.

Byakuya’s fist enclosed on the petal tightly, his knuckles beginning to whiten further than the pale tone of his skin. It seemed that there would be no other way to end the zanpakutou induced torture that he was under. No matter how much he did not want to say it he would have to. He opened his hand again, the crushed petal floating gently to the grass.

“Kurosaki Ichigo.”

 

_It is more than simple words can express and yet at the same time it is less_

 

Byakuya closed his eyes at the confession. He had been correct. He could no longer deny what had been slowly gnawing away at him for years; what had begun to consume his thoughts.

“Hai, Kurosaki Ichigo,” his zanpakutou stated.

Byakuya slowly opened his eyes and focused upon the surface of the shimmering pond before him. The two men fell in to a comfortable silence, the harsh wind that had previously surrounded them easing away at the noble’s confession. A warm and gentle breeze replaced it, a breeze that he was accustomed to feeling here in his inner world. It was remarkably comforting at any time but especially now. It felt as if perhaps things could finally go back to the way that they had been. Feeling this, Byakuya was slightly dismayed to note that the sakura trees had yet to return to their previous splendour. He frowned. Senbonzakura merely chuckled at his master’s expression.

“Byakuya, you have barely scratched the surface. Do not expect things to return to as they were so quickly.”

“Things can never revert back to what they were, Senbonzakura,” he said thinking of the tree that represented Hisana and the time that he had had with her.

It was the truth after all that he could never regain that which had been lost to him, and yet for the first time since the demise of his late wife, he felt that perhaps he was okay with the thought of things never being able to be what they once had. It was a revelation in itself and one that he was sure he could attribute to his confession.

“There is one thing that I do not understand, Byakuya”

He glanced at his zanpakutou to show that he should continue with his enquiry.

“What is it about the boy that has you like this?”

The question was a surprise to Byakuya and not one that he had expected. It was not a question that he felt he even had an answer to himself. His zanpakutou’s questioning on the matter merely confirming it. Though of course there were matters that he kept hidden from his companion, he had always consciously done so. Therefore, it stood to reason that either he himself did not know the answer to such a question, or that he was now subconsciously concealing things from Senbonzakura.

“I do not know,” he simply replied.

They sat in contemplative silence, Senbonzakura musing over the possibility that Byakuya did not realise just how strongly, how deeply he felt for the orange-haired Shinigami. Naturally, the zanpakutou knew what his wielder could not quite admit to himself or see, but he had yet to be able to understand or find a reason as to why Byakuya felt that way.

The noble in question was trying to come up with an answer for his companion. _What is it about Kurosaki Ichigo that has me like this? It is more than just a passing fancy or physical attraction to the boy,_ he thought.

“It is not the way he moves and it is not the way he looks. It is not the way he holds himself and it is not his resolve. It is his soul, his very essence that calls to me.”

Senbonzakura remained silent, slightly shocked by the words that Byakuya had spoken. He had expected to have to work at extracting such information from his master. He was even prepared to have to have another ‘intervention’. However the information had been offered willingly.

Senbonzakura’s delicate features soon became marred by a frown though. The last part of the statement troubled him. As a zanpakutou he was naturally privy to more information concerning not only his master’s soul,v but souls in general. Yes, this last section troubled him. He had a very good idea what it meant and suspected that Byakuya had none whatsoever. It was not something that often happened let alone was documented. He knew that Byakuya was not stupid, far from it, but something of the nature that he had described could easily be brushed over and thought to be something else. He had no reason to suspect that the truth of the matter was something that even the soutaichou would struggle to comprehend. Senbonzakura very much doubted that even in his millennia of existence that Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni had felt such a calling. Yes, the implications of such a statement worried him deeply, especially when he considered just who exactly was doing the calling.

His thoughts were broken by Byakuya, “There is something troubling you.”

“Iie,” the sword replied. “I am merely assimilating what you have just told me.”

Byakuya did not push the subject. There was something that his zanpakutou was not telling him, something that was troubling him, but he would wait until Senbonzakura was ready to tell him what that was. After all, Kuchiki Byakuya was nothing if not a patient man. He would wait for as long as it took for his companion to share with him the problem that had him so troubled.

He doubted that it could really have anything to do with what he had told him and the events of the day that they had shared together. No, there was nothing especially shocking for his zanpakutou there, therefore the only conclusion that he could draw was that there was something happening or something that was going to happen that he was not aware of. There was not much that Byakuya wasn’t aware of and Senbonzakura knew better than to try and protect him from ugly truths and the like. Whatever he was hiding could not be too serious or dangerous for him. It was not as though they were currently at war.

It had been sixty years since Aizen Sousuke had been sealed away in the deepest depths of Soul Society’s prison. It had been sixty years since Byakuya had thought that he would not be able to see Kurosaki Ichigo again. It had been sixty years since Soul Society had been under any sort of threat. A lot had changed since then and yet at the same time nothing had changed at all.

The Gotei 13 itself had recovered admirably from the losses that they had suffered during the short war with Aizen and his associates. The ranks remained virtually unchanged with the exception of new taichous being appointed for both the Third Squad and the Fifth Squad, the Ninth remaining under the care of its fukutaichou, Hisagi Shuuhei. It seemed that there were virtually no Shinigami capable of achieving bankai. It was not the case of course, Byakuya was sure that most of the fukutaichous would be able to, but still the fact remained that ever since Abarai Renji had achieved bankai no other Shinigami in the Gotei 13 had. It was hardly surprising considering that there was no longer the threat of war to push people to become much stronger through the acquisition of bankai, merely a personal quest if the Shinigami was that way inclined.

Byakuya sighed. He himself was in need of a new fukutaichou and had been since Renji had been appointed the taichou of the Third Squad some twelve years previously. It appeared as if Byakuya was taking a leaf out of Thirteenth Squad taichou Ukitake Juushiro’s book in his putting off of replacing his fukutaichou for so long. Naturally that was not the case. Byakuya would not accept a fukutaichou that did not meet his approval or expectations, it was as simple as that. He point blank refused to, much to the annoyance of some of the other taichous. He was a Kuchiki, he had standards.

Much had changed in the world of the living or more specifically, in Karakura Town. It was little surprise that the human world changed drastically over a relatively short period of time with the technology at their disposal, but it wasn’t just that. Karakura had remained almost unchanged aesthetically speaking, but it had undergone drastic changes underneath the surface.

However the one thing that had remained a constant despite these changes was the presence of a certain Shinigami with hair of the brightest orange and the companionship of his Chappy loving best friend.

Byakuya had been sure for years that there was more than friendship between the two of them, a fact that had constantly irked him through the years, as he had believed that the former was not worthy of the latter. He had changed his mind on the matter now, knowing that if his sister was happy then he had no right to try to interfere. He had thought that he was merely protecting her at the time but now he knew different. The thought of the two of them being together still bothered him, but now he could recognise the feeling for what it was. He hadn’t known what it had been when it had first surfaced years ago as it was not something that he had ever felt before. The truth of the matter was that he was jealous.


	2. An Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and reviews left. Once you have finished this chapter you may wish to know more about certain events and actions by the characters involved. I suggest that you read the accompanying one-shot To Have Loved. This is by no means compulsory and the story is understandable without reading it but it adds extra info and depth.

**Chapter Two: An Old Friend**  


_There is something warming about friendship and the bond it creates  
For friendship is a bond that transcends all time and space_

  


Kurosaki Ichigo walked the streets of Karakura Town, the sun beating down upon him. The place had barely changed, aesthetically speaking, in all the time that he had lived there, merely a new convenience store popping up here and there and existing shops changing to suit their customers' ever fickle needs. It was comforting to him and yet at the same time saddening, for he was on his way to visit the only person bar his father and those at the Urahara Shoten that he had any connection to in Karakura.

Even after the war with Aizen it seemed that the place was still a hotbed for spiritual activity and so was naturally still closely monitored by Soul Society. There had been no major problems that required a full intervention thanks to the diligent work of the resident Squad, Kurosaki Isshin. Once the twins had passed on, Isshin no longer felt the need for the gigai that he had worn for so many years, and as such had agreed to aid in the protection of the town.

It was odd for Ichigo to be travelling the familiar streets without the usual consort of his friends but it was to be suspected after so long. They were only human after all. He turned a corner and slowly approached a appartment that he had visited many times in his youth. As he approached the door he wished yet again that he was visiting there under happier circumstances. Before he had a chance to knock however, the door was opened.

"Ohayo, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Ohayo, Inoue," he replied.

She turned from him and walked back in to the house knowing that he would follow behind her and close the door. She had felt her friend's reiatsu from half a mile away and had therefore prepared tea accordingly. It was almost a tradition that when he visited the tea would already be prepared and waiting for him. The house itself had barely changed from when she was a teen sixty years previously.

They seated themselves opposite each other at the small table and Orihime handed Ichigo a steaming cup of the tea that she had prepared.

"Arigato."

She smiled wanly at him.

Ichigo didn't fail to notice how strained her smile was and inwardly frowned. He knew that the years had been hard for her, especially the last decade. His visits lately had always seemed to mark an unhappy occasion for them both and he knew that it was all getting perhaps too much for her now.

They sat in silence for what seemed like an age, neither willing to broach the subject that they knew they would. Orihime took a sip of her tea.

"How have you been, Inoue?" Ichigo asked her.

"Great."

He frowned visibly this time. He knew that she was lying and doing so to prevent him from worrying about her. It had been the same for years but the action only made him worry more. Her voice held no conviction at all and he was positive that the latest happenings in Karakura Town had merely added greatly to her negative feelings. Tatsuki had been her best friend after all.

"There's no need to lie," he told her.

Orihime flushed in embarrassment.

"It's okay to be upset you know, you and Tatsuki were best friends after all."

Orihime looked at the tea before her.

"It's not really that," she said staring intently at the liquid, "I'm not that upset that Tatsuki-chan has gone. In a way, I'm sort of happy as she was only holding on so long because of me."

Ichigo knew that she felt guilty about that. Tatsuki had always protected her and looked after her, always saying that she didn't need any family because Orihime was her family. Tatsuki had wanted to protect her for as long as possible and not let her get lonely. Ichigo knew that if Orihime could have used her powers then she would have, but it seemed as though they simply couldn't turn back time. The fact that Tatsuki's departure was not the reason for her current melancholy led Ichigo to the conclusion that it had stirred up feelings and memories from sixty years previously. He sighed. He had a pretty good idea which memories Orihime was dwelling over.

"Listen Inoue, it was sixty years ago. You need to try and let go of this. He isn't coming back."

He knew it was harsh but they were no longer children, despite how they looked. He had tried countless things over the years to try and lessen the pain she felt but nothing had worked. Perhaps the direct approach would be the one to get through to her and stop her from dwelling on those events that had started in the Fifth Tower of Las Noches.

"I know," she whispered.

Silence enveloped them and Ichigo took that chance to really look at his friend. Her hair was still the same vibrant auburn that it had been when they were fifteen, yet it was a little longer in length. Everything was the same as it had been sixty years ago more or less, except for her eyes. Gone were the bright and life filled eyes that Ichigo remembered from their youth, instead in their place were shells. They were dull, almost empty. Deep down he knew that it was his fault that she was going through so much pain and he would give anything to stop her from feeling that way; but he couldn't. Nothing could bring back the dead, not even her powers. He had been on the verge of going over but it was his Hollow that had brought him back from that brink, not her.

No, she didn't quite look the same as she had sixty years ago. He wanted to help her, he really did, but the problem was that he wasn't able to be with her all the time to keep her company and keep her mind off of such thoughts.

_Wait, maybe I can._

"Inoue, come back with me to Soul Society, even if it's just for a few days. I know that Rukia and everyone would be really happy to see you."

Ever since the end of the war with Aizen, Orihime had had a free pass to travel to Soul Society and visit the friends that she had made, provided that she was accompanied at all times. She had rarely used it and Ichigo thought that perhaps a little vacation would do her some good.

Looking at him, Orihime knew that he was worried about her and normally she would acquiesce and go with him, but not today. She had accepted long ago that once her friends had died that she would not see them, despite being sent to Soul Society. Tatsuki had been the last of them to go. It had been hard to accept at first, for both of them, until Byakuya had explained something to them.

" _If you had never heard of Soul Society, Shinigami, Hollows and never knew of their existence then when the time came for your friends and family to die you would not see them again in the human world, for they would have passed over to here. When you then died you would end up in Rukongai, but you would not find your friends and family even if you searched for them for years. Essentially, if you were normal humans then once you died you would never see them again and eventually you would lose your memories of them as they have of you. Do you understand now why you cannot seek them out? Even if you did find them they would not remember you."_

It had enabled her to come to terms with it all, but it had still been a point of despair for her friend. He had always been and always would be a protective older brother.

She couldn't go to Soul Society with him this time. She needed to be on her own for a while.

"Gomen Kurosaki-kun, but perhaps another time."

He sighed. He knew better than to try and persuade her otherwise. She had become rather stubborn in her 'old age'. He took another sip of the tea that she had prepared for them.

"Yeah, another time."

He smiled at her.

"It suits you," she said changing the subject.

Ichigo chuckled," You think? It takes some getting used to I must admit."

She smiled at him genuinely this time. "I'm sure that you'll get used to it in no time, Kurosaki-taichou"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. "Nee Inoue, you know I don't like that, it makes me sound all old."

"But you are old, Kurosaki-kun," she teased.

"True."

He grinned at her. It was nice to have some semblance of the old Orihime back. She was right of course. He was old, at least by human standards, although by Soul Society's standards he supposed he looked old for his age. He was pretty sure that Hitsugaya Toushiro was more than twice his age despite looking as if he was only around fifteen.

It was now Orihime's turn to look closely at her friend. She rather liked the fact that he had allowed his hair to grow out some. It resembled how it had been just before he had lost his powers. In fact, it looked to her as if he had regained all the changes that had happened to him whilst training in the dangai. It was slightly bizarre to think that the two of them were well in to their seventies and yet still looked as if they attended high school.

"How is everyone?" she asked.

She may have isolated herself somewhat from her friends in Soul Society but it did not stop her from caring about them.

Ichigo began to regale the tales of their friends, marking them of on his fingers as he went, "Well, Rukia and Renji are still going strong and still managing to somehow keep it a secret from Byakuya…Rangiku-san still likes to skip out on the paperwork to drink sake with Kyouraku-san and the others. Nothing much changes with her really, although she'd love to know if you have any new recipes for her…I swear that Toushiro has actually grown an inch since you last saw him. And speaking of Toushiro I'm 99.9% sure that Karin has a crush on him, although she'd never admit it. Once she finishes at the Academy she's determined to get accepted in to the Tenth Squad. I'll have to keep my eye on them just to be sure…" He trailed off thinking of the ways in which he could hurt Toushiro if he laid a finger on his sister without getting in to trouble with the soutaichou.

Orihime then interrupted his thoughts with a cheery, "I'm glad that everyone is doing so well."

"Yeah, they are I guess."

She nodded.

"But what about you Kurosaki-kun?"

She may have be well known for her lack of perception but not when it came to someone that she cared about, was as close to as she was to Ichigo, someone who she had seen at their worst moments; she could always tell when he was hiding something.

Ichigo took another sip of his tea to prolong the amount of time before he would have to answer. It wasn't as though there was anything in particular that he had been deliberately hiding from her, it was just that it had not come up in conversation and he honestly didn't like talking about himself and how he felt to others. Old habits really did die hard.

"Same old, same old," he replied.

Now it was Orihime's turn to frown. She knew that it was hard for him to speak about himself to others, but there had been something bothering him since he had been made captain of the Fifth Squad six months before. He had been in a gigai the last time he had visited her upon his appointment and even then she could tell straightaway that something was bothering him.

"You shouldn't keep things hidden and bottled up so much, Kurosaki-kun. Sometimes it helps to tell people things."

He knew that she was right, but the situation in question was a difficult one to broach with anyone. He had never told anyone the full extent of what had happened when he regained his powers. As far as they knew he had made a deal with his inner Hollow to remove the 'horse and king' barrier. That was merely scratching the surface of the truth. In actuality his current problems stemmed from the process and he knew that there was nothing that he could do about it. Surely there was no need to share something that could not be resolved? His inner Hollow would have a field day at the thought. Ichigo thought of lying to her but Orihime was someone that he couldn't do that to. The cause of his problem was another.

"I don't know how to say it. I mean there is nothing I can do about it so in theory there is no need to share it, right?" he stalled.

Orihime didn't reply. She knew that she didn't need to and that the man before her would tell her in his own time.

The man in question sighed. He knew that he really should talk to someone about it and the best person, the one who would perhaps understand better than anyone was sitting in front of him. His debate with himself led not only to something that needed to be done, but also something that he didn't want to happen as the decision was taken out of his hands; the blackness seeping in to his sclera.

"What Kuro here is trying to tell you is that he's in love with someone who don't love him back."

Ichigo really hated his inner Hollow at times

" _Teme," he told him._

" _Nah, you know you love it really," his Hollow replied._

" _That doesn't really even make sense. I mean what are you even referring to?"_

" _I dunno. You just love everything about me," the Hollow said smugly._

" _Arse."_

"Ano, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime interrupted the inner conversation that Ichigo had been having.

Ichigo came back to himself and smiled sheepishly at her. His eyes had returned to their usual dusky brown and not the gold that they had been a few moments before. The removal of that barrier would get him in to some serious trouble one day, he just knew it.

"Sumimasen, Inoue."

"It's okay. Was what he said true?"

Ichigo merely nodded not daring to look at Orihime. It was downright embarrassing that he hadn't told her himself but rather someone else had. His Hollow no less.

"You should tell her."

Ichigo's head snapped up at that. _I should what?_ He knew that to tell the person he was hopelessly in love with that he felt that way was practically committing suicide. Hell, he wanted to live a little bit longer and without the whole of Soul Society laughing at him to boot. Then what Orihime had actually said finally sunk in totally.

"Him."

Orihime looked puzzled for a moment. Her puzzlement then quickly turned to shock at the one simple word that Ichigo had uttered.

"You should tell him," she stated.

Ichigo shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure that he doesn't feel anything other than a tentative friendship. Even that was hard enough to get."

"You should tell him, Kurosaki-kun. You don't want to live lifetimes of regret if something happened to him and you never told him how you felt," Orihime said sadly.

Ichigo immediately felt guilty at that. He had been trying to take her mind off of her feelings and memories but he only made it worse by practically forcing her to think about them. He knew that she was right, but how did you go about telling someone that you had a tentative friendship with that you were actually in love with them? Knowing his luck, Ichigo thought that he would end up ruining what little relationship they already had.

"You're right, Inoue. I don't want to ruin anything or make him uncomfortable though."

"I'm sure you won't. After all, we are adults and we can work through and past things like this."

Ichigo merely nodded and drained the last of his tea which had started to grow rather cold. He placed the cup back down on the table before standing up. He had stayed longer than he had planned to and was certain that his desk was groaning under the weight of the paperwork waiting for him.

"Arigatou Inoue, but I should be heading back."

Orihime stood too and followed him to the door. She smiled at him as they stood on the threshold.

"I understand," she said. "Come back soon for another visit, okay."

Ichigo smiled and nodded before turning and starting to walk down the road. He hated to say goodbye to anyone and those after his visits with Inoue were short and filled with non-descript plans to visit again. Goodbyes were too final.

He had barely walked more than a few paces when Orihime called after him, "Who is it Kurosaki-kun?" her curiosity getting the better of her.

Ichigo turned around before calling back to her, "Byakuya."

 

* * *

 

He had been back in Soul Society for all of thirty minutes before he found himself walking the familiar paths to the Sixth Squad barracks. It was not something that he had wanted to do after his meeting with Orihime, but it seemed that someone had accidently given him some of the Sixth Squads paperwork. and it was with some matter of urgency that it be completed. He would have sent Hinamori-fukutaichou or one of his seated officers to take them, but the documents themselves were of a sensitive nature and for the eyes of taichous only. He sighed. Kami-sama sure hated him sometimes.

He strode in to the barracks, nameless Shinigami parting in the halls to let him pass with mutterings of "Kurosaki-taichou". He really didn't want to have to talk or even see the noble taichou today but it seemed as though he was forever cursed with bad luck.

Standing outside the door to the man's office he knocked three times upon it in quick succession. He waited for an answering call but none came. Suddenly cheered and thinking that perhaps the Sixth Squad taichou was not in, he gently opened the door and stepped inside. He didn't know how to feel at the sight that met his eyes.

Kuchiki Byakuya seemed to be asleep sitting upright in his chair, perfectly composed and yet at the same time totally relaxed. Ichigo was amazed. He had never seen the stoic noble so unguarded before and the image before him was one that he would never forget.

He had been attracted to the older man for years and had been in love with him for almost as long, but looking at him now, Ichigo knew that he would never love anyone else. Looking at him so unguarded, Ichigo knew that he wanted to be with him in any way possible.

Releasing a breath that he hadn't even realised he was holding on to, Ichigo gingerly made his way across the room to the noble's desk. He really didn't want to wake the other taichou even if the papers were urgent. Instead he decided to place them at the top of the almost completed pile that Byakuya had left to do, that way he was sure that the man would do them in time.

He carefully placed the documents down in front of the Sixth Squad taichou. He was about to turn away and leave the man to his rest when he was suddenly frozen in place.

"Ichigo," Byakuya sighed softly.

 


End file.
